The comprehensive health monitoring system is an upgrade on traditionalcommercial health monitors. Traditionalportablehealth systems monitor bloodpressure, pulse, temperature, or breathing and transmit data to an output screen,often worn as a wristwatch, but in most cases restricted tolarge immobileequipment found in

medical facilities or homes.

However, these systems aregenerally dumb terminals, unable to process the data that they are collecting orprovideany assistance to thepatient. The aim of the comprehensive healthmonitoring system is to not only measure relevant vital signs, but to store them,recognize patterns, and from these patterns make judgments about apatient'shealth or perform small functions that contribute to an overall healthyatmosphere.

Current health-related goals in the health monitoring system include heart attackprediction, sleepmonitoring, and fall detection.From these basic goals, thesystem can notify thepatient

and/or emergency services if necessary, or performactions that alleviate the problem. The system alsoa display so thepatient

canmonitor their vital signs, or so the system can give output to thepatient

that maynot fall under the category of an emergency, but is still considered a health risk.

The basic form the health monitoring systemtakes

is amain controller unit wornaround the waist, with several peripheral units attached to the body in other vitallocations. This is similar to many commercial health monitoring systems.However, as this unit

includes

other functions not commonly found on thesesystems, the majority of the electronicsare

stored on the waist, rather than theperipheries,to consolidate decision-making andavoid having the weight of theperipheral units

become an annoyance.

The goal of this project was

simple but imperative

and achieving these objectivesresulted

in an exceptional overall product. The final design for this project

achieved

accurate measurements, effective transmission and extensive safetyprotocols. This pledges that the design

realize its objective to be safe and secure,giving itspatients equanimity and reassurance.

The project

assists

futureprojects and therefore helps

people achieve a level of functional

and/or metabolicefficiency and be as independent and free from major illness or injuryaspossible. This also enables thepatient

to have a

complete physical, mental, andsocial well-being,

not merely trying to survive without the knowledge of whatmight be happening to their body. This system also give the doctor a wider rangeof knowledge on several body signs by as mentioned previously being able totransmit

and store

information via different ways.

The system also is able to monitor, blood oxygenation,temperature, and be ableto detect a fall. These vital signs areanessential part of case presentation.Pulse5

rate, blood pressure and respiratory rate arethree

vital signs which are standardin most medical setting; we also added

blood oxygen

concentration and falldetection sincethe

targetedgroupare

patients with heart problems and seniorcitizenswho

are vulnerablein that there are

devastating effects if theyfall.

1.2

Project Motivation and Goals

The main motivation of this project

is the desire to help people that have anymedical condition that requires continuous monitoring as well as the elderlycommunity. It’s widely believed that when an individual dies of cardiac arrest orbreathing difficulties, their survival can be greatly

increased if thereis medicalattention withinten minutesof

the episode’s beginning. There are many causesfor cardiac arrest; mainly high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and congestiveheart failure, but any measure taken to prevent it would be valuable andreassuring. Since the individual isrenderedhelpless upon onset of cardiacarrest, external sensorsare

useful to diagnose a range of medical conditions andpossibly prevent the cardiac arrest from taking place. The comprehensive healthmonitoring

system

used to keep track of vital signs. People with heart conditionsand breathing difficulties can use this device to help monitor their conditions andprovide almost immediate connection to emergency services.

Some personal health monitors have been produced, but none providedimmediate connection to emergency services throughwireless meansvia a cellphone’s

givinga

location and

the

personal information of the patient. Some arenot designed

for constant wearand are very expensive to purchase for homeuse. Therefore, the purpose of this personal health monitor is to eliminate worriesof immediate medical response and allow for comfort and ease of use without thecostly charges. The sensorsare

remote and havea remote monitoring stationpermitting the patient to participate in everyday activities without limiting thepatient’s whereabouts. This also allow medical emergency services to indentifythe individual, their location, and last vital signs in addition to

contacting theindividual’s personal emergency contacts without being at the current location.

This comprehensive health monitoring system can be used for a variety ofalternate applications as well. Heart rate can show stress, fear and excitement.Anyone can use a personal care monitor to keep track of when exercise is donein a safe cardiovascular range. Many athletes use pulse-oximetry monitors tohelp them train their breathing while exercising. Pilots also use pulse-oximetrymonitors to assure their

pulse rate and percent oxygen saturation are within thevigorous range while they are in a thinneratmosphere,

preventing dangerousconditions and possibly saving lives.

Because of the wide variety of uses forthecomprehensive health monitoringsystem,

this project has a large potential market, butthe

primarydesire is toimprove the quality of life. However, medical applications tend to be the mostexpensive. Similar products are priced around $300-$600. For more information6

on existing products, seesection 3.1. Weintend that this design

cost

issignificantly

less for the same features,

orhavethe samecostbut with moremuch needed features. Its design is to have safety features to prevent losses ofmonitoring and alert thepatient

of dangerous conditions, providing the maximumsafety with minimum cost.

This system

helps

the elderly, disabled and those with chronic illness be cared intheir comfort of their own home. Even though the cost of this systemwasintended

tobe kept at a minimum this system is stillvery costly;

however

theadvantages might outweigh any cost and insurance might be able to cover it.Also there are some patients that are so critical that it might be best for them notto move around so much and staying at home might be their best solution.

Thecost of staying at the hospital as well as the space to stay at the hospital andprovide after care is highly expensive.

and identify exasperations before they turninto crisis. Some people get annual checkups and sometimes this might be areally long time, asthe illness might turn into a crisis way before the nextappointment.

This system is

also meant to be comfortable, and

could also havean interface

that could allow thepatient

to input data on how they were feeling that day or iftheyare

under any extraneous conditions. Thisallows

the health care provider toprescribe the adequate amount of medication as well as justmonitor the person.This system

needs

to be as accurate as possible because one of the biggestconcerns for most patients is the safety and accuracy of being self diagnosed ascompared to being diagnosed in ahospital. Therefore this system can be issued

by the physician thatwould

verify along with their equipment that everything isbeing correctly measured. Another concern especially for elderly patientswould

be to actually learn or be able to use the system. So the system needs to beextremely simple, friendly and easy to use.

One goal was

to make this system adaptive. One optionwas

to have the healthprofessional have a simple software were theyinput the patients normal vitalsigns and with the aid of algorithms in the system, the system

gives

a range werethe person is “ok to operate”, a safe range. Another thing to consider is theoperation range of the parts therefore it might not be for every age group. Asmentioned before,

adults are the ones that are most likely

going to use thissystem.

The market for thesetypes

of devices is growing rapidly due to the boomersentering their senior years, and there are only a few markets across NorthAmericawith devicesthat monitorbothhealth and security.

About 85 millionbaby boomers are entering

the age of 60 in North America.

Due tolife in thesedays’

being more sedentary than ever,

there are a lot of chronic illnessesaffecting these people. Diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and obesity7

are some of the ailments that affect this generation and there are only a fewthings in the market than can monitor these effectively or have only one thingmonitoring at the same time. It would be great to help this generation andupcoming generation with

these ailments and many others. These are going tobe done by early detection, monitoring as well as having checkups with theirphysician.

1.3 Objectives

1.3.1CurrentObjectives

One of the main objectives was to

make the device as inexpensive as possiblewithout losing any of the functionality

expected. This means having everythingneeded to make this system effective for the targeted audience; being seniorcitizens among others.

This was

not only done to make the system cheap for thedesigners or manufacturers benefit but also the consumer. The consumer andinsurances,

if they are willing to consider this product,

they will obviously look intocosts.

The system is

innovated and competitivewith what

is out in the market,which

involves

creating many

of the system monitors from basic components,rather than relying on pre-made components with superfluous features, whichcan be quite expensive.

Making it easy to use means: making the device as intuitive

as possible,

and forthe parts that are not so intuitive,

making it easy to learn how to use. Usuallypeople that have a health condition that would need of this type of healthmonitoring would be elderly people and also people with chronic healthconditions.

These people

will need the device tobe

as simple as possible,

yet itneeds to provide all the necessary information to keep thepatient

safe.

The device was constructed

so people with different handicaps to be able to useit. This is

done by having the devicehave outputs thatalert thepatients in morethan onemanner. This

means that the system has

LEDS and a

display alertmessage that

makes

it easy to see and if the message cannot be seen,

forexampleifthepatient

cannot find his/her glasses,

the system

LED’sbright color

give a general idea of

what the system is detecting. Also the system has

anaudiblealarm go off that will let for example apatient

that is blind be able to hearthat there is something wrong going on. There is also a vibration part of thesystem that will alert thepatient

if thepatient

cannot see or hear well or at all.

The device is

non-intrusive. This means making the device not have to piercethe skin,

to give thepatient

utmost comfort,

and this will be done trying to get allthevital signs as accurate as possible. The device does

not have anything thatwill puncture the skin in any way. Non-intrusive also meansthe abilityto have ithidden,

or better yet in a position that will not interfere with thepatient’s daily life.

The

device

will

be

very accurate. To detect health problems,

the algorithms being8

used will

be very accurate;

as well the sensors will

be good andwell-tested.

Since the device is for medical use,

accuracy is highly important. Even though itcan be time-consuming to enter detailed information into a software program it iscrucial to be consistent and accurate, it will be very important to avoid anyshortcuts since a person’s life is on the line. Perhaps a physician will also usethis information as part of the diagnosis of thepatient

and accurate informationwould be key,

for example prescribing the correct amount ofmedication

for thepatient

to take. The check accuracy the system will be rigorously tested. To testaccuracy:

𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑢 𝑎𝑐𝑦=

𝑖𝑖 +

𝑖

𝑖𝑖+

𝑖𝑖+

𝑖 +

𝑖

Meaning that an accuracy of 100% measuredvalues are exactly the same as thegiven “correct” values.

It should bereliable again since this is health system reliability is a big issue.Reliability is the ability of a system or component to perform the required functionunder stated conditions

for

a specified period of time. It can also be defined indifferent ways: the idea that something is fit for a purpose with respect to time,the capability of a device or system to perform as design, the resistance to failureof a device or system, the ability of a device or system to perform a specifiedinterval under stated conditions, the ability of something to fail well withoutcatastrophic consequences. One of the main concerns is battery life. This issuewill be addressed

looking into what power systems to use and picking the onethat lasts

longer and may not be too heavy.

Also,

using algorithms that aresimple yet accurate will diminish the amount of power used in the system.

The system also has to be worn at all times, and

therefore the device cannot beheavy. The device should be easy to wear and be able to forget about it until isactivated by an alert. The weight of the system is important because asmentioned previously this device will most likely be worn by elderly people orpeople with chronic conditions that do not need to have a load of added weight tocarry around daily.

The device has also to be able to be easily maintained.Whether is a battery that needs changing, orthe system needs to be reset,

itneeds to be maintained with ease. Maintainabilityin a system is alwaysimportant. Just as

the system needs to be maintained by the user,

the systemalso needs to be easy tobemaintained by the people that are going to assembleit;if it needs repairing it needs to be easy to send off forrepair.

Maintainabilitycan be by a user manual and also by having the system able to be repaired if itfails, which can mean making the system modular so it can be able to berestored to a specific condition within a given time.

Because of the limited time given for the project, there are other ideas andobjectives that were other ideas thought of,which

could be implemented in thefuture. These ideas were either too complicated or would require too much timeto accomplish during

this time period. These ideas would make the device very9

accurate and

safe, since they are able to gather even more information from thepatient

for the medical personnel, family, and/or physician to monitor in

real time.

1.3.2 Future Objectives

There are several future objectives that were brainstormed about. One of themis the monitoring of blood pressure. Currently inthe

design,the

system ismonitoring pulse and oxygen levels, and fall detection. Oneidea was

theaddition of a blood pressure monitor to give thepatient

an extra factor to check.This is important because one can become injured or dieas a result of

highblood pressure. Since there are no visible symptoms, one can receive severalhealth problems such as kidney damage, vision loss, strokes, damage to theheart or arteries, and many more. In the future, the system can alarm a person iftheir blood pressure has risen over the standard blood pressure readings.

The second idea that was thought of was to develop an android/iPhoneapplication for the system. Currently, there is a display on the waist that showsthe info and readings from the different components of the system. Theapplication would actually replace the display of the system. Since there is anaccelerometer already inside cell phones, the application would be able toconsider fall detection as well as receive information from the other parts of thesystem when a fall occurs. For example, most cell phone carriers have theirphone attached to their bodies, usually

in a cell phone case located on the hip. Ifthat person falls, the accelerometer in the phone will send information to theapplication, as well as the other components of the system, and the software ofthe application can send out an alert that a fall just occurred. The reason thisidea was not considered was because it would be more complicated thanthe

original idea and require more time than the time already given.

The next idea that was brought up was to maybe have a system that is gearedfor kids.

The system that is being developed are developing is targeting adults.The reason why is because kids run, jump, break things, and fall more frequentlythan adults do. If that is the case, there would be no point for them to have thissystem. The system could be less sensitive or not contain all of the componentsof the current system. Otherwise, there would have to more coding to considerwhat kids to on a day to day basis or how hard an impact actually is. Also, thereading would be a lot harder to

retrieve from a child rather than an adult.

Another idea that was thought of to add to the system was a sleep timer for thetelevision. For example, televisions that have sleep timers programmed intothem usually go by increments of thirty minutes. When those minutes are up, thetelevision shuts off. What if one sets their sleep timer to the next 30 minutes butfalls asleep within the next 5 minutes? Both power and money are being wastedbecause the television is still on and not being utilized. Thisproblem does notonly affect thepatient

money wise but also health wise. Exposure even to dimlightswhen it should be dark may contribute to depression and life-threatening

10

diseases such as breast cancer, weight gain and diabetes. A solution to thisproblem, dealing withthe

system, is to have a transmitter on the system thattransmitted a signal to the television to turn it off as soon as the viewer fallsasleep. Some system cameras could

detect whether the person is asleep.Another way is to measure this is by body temperature, pulse rate, and oxygenlevels. Since part of this project was already detecting vital signs, making thesystem detect whether the person was asleep or

not wouldnotbe very difficult.The difficulty arose in differentiating whether the person is falling asleep or fallingill. Vital signs decrease when a person is falling asleep; for example the bloodpressure decreases by 20% and the pulse decreases by 5% to 10%, since thereis no correlation between heart rate and blood pressure.

This is too similar to thereaction of the human body when it is falling ill.Coming up with an idea andimplementing it into the system would be too complicated to complete in the timegiven for this project. Also after this idea was discarded, anotherproblem arose,

which was having a continuous blood pressure reading.

Noninvasive continuousblood pressure reading is not available with current technology, and currenttechniques to monitor blood pressure take some time to activate.

Monitoring sleep isanother idea that that was thought of. Like mentioned before,the information that is being displayed to thepatient

are oxygen levels, heartrate, and fall detection. While one is sleeping, these levels and rates could getvery low and could be dangerous. One of the most common sleeping disordersis sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a sleeping disorder that is characterized byabnormal pauses of abnormal low breathing during sleep, whether brought on bya malfunction in the oxygen controller of the brain, or

a closing of the throat dueto musculature. This tends to happen to men rather than woman as

the men areusually more heavy set. Symptoms usually include sleeping a lot during the day,fatigue, breathing problems after awaking, and loud snoring. This occurs whenthe oxygen levels are low and this type of information is usually unknown to thepatient.

Another idea that we felt

the system shouldhave

are temperature sensors.These sensors wouldhelp the system monitor sleep.Two different types of these

temperature sensors are thermistors and RTD’s (resistance temperaturedetectors).A thermistor is a type of resistor whose resistance varies with thetemperature.RTD’s are temperature resistors that exploit the change in electricalresistance of variousmaterials with changing temperature.The main differencebetween these two resistors is the material that is used with each device.Thermistors use ceramic or polymer material where the RTD’s uses pure metals.If the monitoring of sleep is ever added tothis system, temperature sensorsshould definitely be a part of that feature in order to receive accurate readings.

Another idea was to make the system water proof. Making it water proof meansthat thepatient

will be able to wear it outside without worrying if is going to rain ornot. Not only will the system be better off and thepatient

regarding rain but alsosweat. If thepatient

needs to monitor his/her vital signs while they are running11

the system will be able to keep trackof this without gettingdamaged by moisture.Thepatient

could alsowear

the system while he/she is swimming and underspecified depths thepatient

would be

able to be constantly monitor withouthaving the fear of his/her body lacking oxygen among other vital sign beingmeasured.

Another situation in where waterproofing

is very important, is if thesystems accidentally gets thrown in the washer the system will be able to stillfunction afterwards.

A very important idea that was thought of is having the system let the emergencypersonnel and family know exactly were in the house is thepatient

located. Thereare times where emergency personnel have a hard time finding the

location of a

person that is in distress in their home. There are several locators that alreadyexist; many of

them use the Global Positioning System (GPS). This could beeasily incorporated with one of the ideas that were previously mentioned; theapp, since many mobile phones now come with GPS receivers alreadyintegrated. One example of this device is the GPS-911 Real-Time PersonalTracking Kit by Go Pass. The device support indoor positioning, Bi-directionalphone conversations, SOS emergency call function, and various other options.

Another feature that could be added and might still be added, is have the systemdisplay any medical information that might be useful to medical personnel afterarriving. Example of medical information would be: blood type, allergies, whetherthe person has any allergies to any medication. Since every second counts,having as much

information from thepatient

without causing him/her anyphysical harm (nonintrusive) and locating the person fast and accurately, havingmore information being able to be display will make any medical process gofaster and with fewer complications.

The lights were another factor that we thought of forthe

system. The systemcurrently has three different lights: a red light, a blue light, and a green light.Each light corresponds to a different function dealing with health problems,system problems,and fall detection. Currently, because of power issues,the

system displays a blinking light with vibration and sound to alert the patient thatof heart problems. Implementing a different type of light pattern could possiblybe more of an attention grabber. Similar to the restaurant paging systems,having several lights rather than a few lights creates more than a distraction. Forfuture discussions, having several lights than fewer lights would improvethe

system. The only factor to compliment the lights would be a more powerfulbattery.

The last feature that we thought about was where the signal actually goes. As ofnow, if the patient pushes the panic/help button, there will be a signal transmittedfrom the transceiver to a cell phone. For example, the cell phone will display afalse number such as ‘888’ to prove that a signal was successfully sent out. Duetothe

given time span, having a signal transmit to the paramedics directly is tocomplex. So for futures discussions, the system should beable to send out a12

signal to ‘911’ so the paramedics can be informed of the situation Also, if thisproduct is a success and the company is large enough, the system can also adda dispatcher; this is similar to security systems. A signal transmits to the

dispatcher, and then the dispatcher alerts ‘911’.

1.4 Existing Similar Projects

There are some projects that have similarities to this project. Mentioned in thefollowing paragraphs are some of these projects. The Wearable healthMonitoring Systems(WHMS) is a project by students of the University ofAlabama in Huntsville, Wealthy–

The Wearable Health Monitoring System is meant to detect abnormal conditionsand prevent serious conditions at an early stage. It will help patients that needcontinuous ambulatory monitoring as part of a diagnostic procedure, and alsopatients that are recovering or suffer from chronic condition. They also recognizea personal medical monitoring system that is out in the market called Holtermonitors. Holter monitors are portable devices that monitor various electricalactivity of the central nervous system for at least 24 hours. The Holter’s mostcommon use is for monitoring heart activity but it can also be used to monitorbrain activity. Their system has an ECG and Tilt sensor on the chest, a SpO2 andMotion sensor on the wrist, and on both ankles motion

sensors. This system isconnected to a personal server

(PDA or 3G cell phone). The servercommunicates to the Internet which connects to weather forecast, emergency,caregiver, medical server, and/or a physician. They developed severalgenerations of wireless intelligent sensors.

Wealthy (Wearable Health Care System) The Wealthy system unlike the first onethat was a project that was based on making it an online collection of information,the second one making it “power friendly”, this one is based on making itcomfortable. Wealthy unitizes a ground-breaking woven sensing interface to bework without any discomfort for thepatient. The system is implemented byintegrating smart sensors, portable devices and telecommunications, togetherwith local intelligence and decision support system. The system like previousexamples is meant to assist patients during rehabilitation but also it is meant forpeople working in extremely stressful environmental conditions, and ensurescontinuous intelligent monitoring. The garment is body suit with sleeves andshorts. It has 6 electrodes on the front side with two Piezoresistive sensors. ThePiezoresistive effect describes the changing resistivity of a semiconductor die toapplied mechanical stress. Many commercial devices

such as pressure sensorsand acceleration sensors employ the piezoresistive effect in silicon. Another twopiezoresistive sensors are located on the arms. To measure respirations fourelectrodes are placed on the thoracic position. To monitor skin temperature andcore temperature two temperature sensors are placed one under the armpit and13

one in the shoulder. There is one 2D accelerometer placed on the lowerabdomen. The system will collect and process data will make a “decision” andwill display on the user interface and send an alert if necessary.

There is a similar project that takes the health monitoring system and puts in on abicycle. It is called the Bicycle with Health Monitoring System; its purpose is toprovide the user as much information as possible during their work out. Thehealth monitoring system includes BMI

(Body Mass Index), milesper hour,calories burned per minute and heatrate (BPM). The only part of this project thatwouldbe relevant to this one is the heartrate monitor also itdisplays everythingon an LCD, which is directly in front of the user. The project was required to beinexpensive embedded system with some intelligence. It used a BASIC Stamp 2microcontroller, which is a microcontroller that is designed for uses in a widevariety of applications. It uses a 4 X 20 serial LCD display. For the Heart RateMonitor an infrared LED was used to pass light through a user’s finger or earwithout any safety concern.

The Wireless Health Monitoring System done by the Department of Electrical andComputer Engineering in Stony Brook New York. The projects goal was to designa sensor system that monitors the users’ vital signs and notifies relatives andmedical personnel of their location during life threatening situations. This is verysimilar to the project here but the location part is not being done. The HealthTracker 2000 combines wireless sensor networks, existing RFID (RadioFrequency Identification) and Vital Sign Monitoring technology to simultaneouslytracking the user’s location. This project has a sensor for heart rate, bloodpressure, and respiration and temperature. The power management has abattery charger, backup, and line voltage regulator. The sensor for heart rate,blood pressure, and respiration rate could be implemented using pressuresensors. To ensure a proper reading of those sensors outputs the

signals areamplified using op-amps are convertedto a digital signal

using ADC (analog todigital converter). Those signal then are processed using a microcontroller ormicroprocessor and the data is output vie a wireless module.

Another project is the health monitoring with wearable non-invasive mobilesystem: The HealthWear project. The project monitors vital signs through ECG,HR, oxygen saturation, impedance pneumography and activity patterns. Thedesign is based on the Wealthy prototype system mentioned previously, and isdesigned to increase comfort. The cloth is connected to a patient’s portableelectronic unit (PPU) that acquires and elaborates the signals from the

sensors.The system is applied to three clinical contexts. One being rehabilitations ofcardiac patents following an acute event; also early discharge program forchronic respiration patients; promotion of physical activity in ambulatory stable forcardio-respiratory patients.

There is another health monitoring system thatinstead of recording vital signs for a health problem it indicates the total amountof activity expressed in either as activity energy expenditure (kcal, Joules, METmins) or physical activity level (PAL). PAL is the time (min/day or week) spent at14

There are several projects that have fall detection but one of them instead ofhaving accelerometers has a camera that feeds in images continuously to acomputer where the data is analyzed and processed to determine if a fall hasoccurred and whether it is necessary to immediately have medical assistance.The computer differentiates between a sudden movement and motion that isactually a fall. If it is necessary to have medical assistance and alarm or alert issent to a station in order to tell staff that there is action to be taken.

Another fall detection

was

made

by CSEM (Centre Suisse d’electronique et deMicrotechnique). They develop a fall detector that automatically detects variousbody falls and sends and alarm to a remote terminal. The user can manually alsosent the alarm and also cancel the automatically generate alarm in case there isfalse fall detection. The detection system is supposed to be integrated into a wristwatch. The core of the decision consists of a microprocessor and two MEMSsensors arranged perpendicularly to allow measurement of acceleration alongthree axes with a range of ±18g. The user interface is a simple small LCDscreen, a vibrator that tells the user that the device has detected a fall and thatan alarm will be sent shortly. Also has a manual trigger on the device. Data canbe

transmitted from fixed/or mobile devices over short distances utilizing ashort/or mobile devices over short distances using a short-range communicatortechnology (Bluetooth protocol). The acceleration can be stored in a flashmemory card. The testing ofthis system based on accelerometeric signals yieldhigh sensitivity of 90% detection and only 3% false detections.

Another fall detection device was developed by Garret Brown of the University ofMichigan under the Undergraduate Program in Engineering atBerkley(SUPERB), the paper focus on three algorithms. It mentions unlike the onemention previously that is on the wrist that this position is to the best because ofnot being stable enough. The chest, waist and neck are said to be the bestpositions. The

device developed has an accelerometer, GPS capabilities; it ispowered by three AAA 1.2 volt rechargeable batteries. It has Bluetoothcapabilities that can be connected to a laptop or a mobile phone. It mentions thatbefore anything is tested the devicesare calibrated. There were severalalgorithms considered. One consisted of looking for a significant angle changewithin the designated time interval length. Then when a significant angle changewas encountered, it looked for a breach of a large acceleration threshold withinthat same time interval and if both of those actions occurred within that timeinterval length it was classified as a fall. The second one considered first lookedfor a breach of a large acceleration threshold. Then it waits until the largeacceleration dissipated and then the normal acceleration is gotten. Was isclassified as short time interval later is around 12 seconds and is used for theuser to get acclimated. Then it analyzes the user’s orientation. If it is determinedthat the user’s orientation is horizontal with the ground then it is classified as a15

fall. Because of the second one having a weakness of not detecting a fall if thefall is completely horizontal then the third one was looked at. The third algorithmlooks for a breach of large acceleration threshold. Then it waits until the largeacceleration dissipates and then the normal acceleration is gotten, after a shorttime interval (around 12 seconds) for the use to get acclimated. Thenit

isdetermines that the use has orientation with the group it is classified as a fall. Ifthe user is not determined to have orientation horizontal with the group but doeshave orientation designed as deviating from uprightness provides another shorttime for the user to acclimated after a period of inactivity length the user still hasorientation designed as deviating from uprightness then is classify as a fall.

The Worcester Polytechnic Institute had a project on making a wireless oximeterpatient monitoring device that was lowcost and had good battery life. Toaccomplish the low cost part they looked at low-power systems. Bluetoothdevices according to their paper have high frequency-to-noise ratio, capable ofhigh data rates, and it is present in many cellular phone, PDAs andnotebookcomputer making it very compatible. Another possibility is ZigBee based wirelesstransmitter. The advantages of using ZigBee are that it has very long battery life,with average current draws. It securely transfers data, it has simple integratedarchitecture and it is very inexpensive.

There is another project call the Wireless Infant Monitor that was design tomonitor for premature infants that measures heart rate, respiratory rate, and coretemperature. The design incorporates a self powered double band design thatallows the user to adjust the band to be placed on the infant. The vital signs aremeasured from the chest and abdomen of the infant and it is transmitted via awireless connection to a data acquisition system and display.

Another project is one developed in Los Angeles Saban Research Institute. Thefocus of the project was to develop algorithms for optimizing the limitedresources like battery power on the sensor nodes. The algorithms adapt theoperating parameter of the sensor nodes in order to extend the lifetime of thesystem. The algorithms need to be executes on the low power processor on thesensor nodes so there is a need to make the algorithms computationally simple.

1.5 Relevant Technologies

Sometechnologies that are relevant tothe

project some of them are just ideasand some are actually in the market or have been use in projects. One idea thathad been looked at is HealthPals: Body-heat powered, wearable healthmonitoring system by a Germany-based industrial designer Olga Epikhina. Thisis just an idea and it would be very energy efficient. Another technology that isout in the market it the Wearable Health Monitoring Sensor by WIN Human16

Recorder Co Ltd of Japan.

HealthPals: Body-heat powered,wearable health monitoring system steps thisidea of the wearable monitoring system by making it relies on the powergenerated by human body heat and vibrations. This systems monitor’stemperature, blood pressure, brainwaves and heartbeats. Each piece ofHealthPals comes with a vibration energy harvester and thermoelectric generatorand capacitor for energy storage. This is meant to help patients with heartdiseases, sleep disorders, hypertension, epilepsy, and post-stoke treatment. Thehealth monitoring set consists of a bracelet and a ring equipped with SPO2sensor, temperature and breathing sensor, headphones equipped with EEGsensors for brainwave monitoring and another ECG sensor for more preciseECG data collection. The device like the previously mentioned will gather all thedata from the sensors and send it onto the patient’s Smartphone or alsocomputer via Bluetooth. Then for this system will reach the doctors through Wi-Fifor examination.

WIN Human Recorder Co. Ltd. Of Japan put out on the market

last year a newhealth monitoring service which utilizes sensor network to function. The systemmeasures electrocardiographic signals, heart rate, brain waves, bodytemperature, respiration, pulse waves among others. The system is viewed andmanaged on amobile phone or a PC. The system has only one30mm (L) X30mm (W) X5mm (D) and 7g sensor module that is attached to the chest.

There are some products in the market that do some of the things that we needto implement such as heart beat and give some sort of output even though this itis not a complete or fairly complete health monitor system like the one we aretrying to do. For example a heart rate monitor in typically implemented in a watchwhich is usually used in a workout. Looking at a fairly expensive watch theproduct is able to Display speed, pace, distance, and heart rate during a workout.It has a GPS sensor that measures speed and distance during outdoor sports. Itstores 99 memory files and workout plans. It is also capable of downloadingworkouts and races directly to the computer to analyze potential improvements. Itis water-resistant and it is designed to repel sweat and moisture.

Another device that is out in the market is breathing monitors. Some of thesebreathing monitors areprimarily used to prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.There is one product called Snuza go! That safely and conveniently monitors ababy’s movement. The apparatus is clipped onto the waistband or diaper andthen is switched on. It has a built-in vibrating stimulator on the Halo model thatgently rouses baby 15 seconds after movement stops. If there is no movementafter 20 seconds an alarm sounds to alert the parents/guardian. It says that it canbe used in combination with a baby sounds or video monitor so thatit can beheard in another room. This specific one is say to be better for twins or multipleswhere it might not be useful to have an monitor under the mattress, sinceobviously if one twin moves and the other one doesn’t it will still detect17

movement. Movement is indicated with a green flash on the movement indicatorlight if there is not movement a red light will be activated along with a siren.

There are some wearable continuousnoninvasive

blood pressure sensors. Onewas developed by MIT faculty and about 20 companies. Like this project thedevice is to help diagnosed hypertension, heart disease, sleep apnea as well aspatients that have anxiety that distorts blood pressure readings. The commonblood pressure monitors require no cuff wrapped around the upper arm andinflated until blood flow is completely cut off. Then it releases pressure graduallyand listens to the flow until the pulse can be detected. This device requires nocuff and instead uses a method called pulse wave velocity, which allows pressureto be calculated by measuring the pulse at two points along an artery. The twopoints are one on the wrist and one on the pinky. The main artery that runs on thepinky finger is the ulnar

artery. One of the problems about getting blood pressurereading is to tell whether the hand is above or below the heart, since these tworeading are different. The device has a sensor that measures acceleration inthree dimensions and allows the hand position to be calculated at all times. Likethis project the data can be transmitted via radio signals or wireless internet. Thisdevice was launched 1995.

There is another device that is actually in the market called “Ambulatory BloodPressure Monitor Contec ABPM-50. Unlike the previous one this one is not awrist cuff but a traditional upper arm cuff wrapped around the upper arm. Like thisproject the information can be stored in a computer. The information that it storesis systolic blood pressure,diastolic blood pressure, mean blood pressure, pulserate, error message and record number. In the article it says that the bloodpressure is taken every N minutes therefore unlike the one mentioned previouslyand even though it says that is continuous itdoes not seem continues.

One feature that this project will have is the ability to turn off the television whenthe person falls asleep by using the information being outputted by the body ontothe device. One technology that has this feature is the Sony

Bravia WE5 whichdoes this by having a heat and motion sensor which will alert the system toautomatically turn off if there is no one in the room watching, it also has facerecognition. The project here instead of using the sensors mentioned the personis the one that is going to have the system on them will turn off the television

using their some of their vital signs.

There are some fall detection devices out in the market. One well knowcommercial with the famous statement “I’ve fallen and I can’t get

up” shows apendant that requires the user to push a button if they have fallen, which is nottruly fall detection since they have to physically do something and it doesn’tdetect is they have fallen. But there are systems like one by Wellcore that hasdevices that connect to a docking station via Zigbee wireless technology at homeand can pair with some Bluetooth technology on some mobile phones. Anotherfeature that the device has is that is the user does not wear it from a long period18

of time the device

sends an email message to a designated caregiver or a familymember letting them know this.

There are also apps for cell phones that can also try and detect a fall which willbe only be obviously good for user of cell phones. One app is the iFall for androiddevices. This app was developed by Florida State University; the device detectsfalls and alerts authorities. Data from the accelerometer in the phone is evaluatedand with several algorithms and data from the user’s position and taking intoaccounts

different factors like height, weight, and the level of the user detects thefall. When a fall is detected it tells the user this if the user does not respond thesystem alerts family and/or friends through a text message. It also enables thespeakerphone

and after the fall is confirmed the then emergency services arecontacted.

Another device that is in the market is Halo Monitoring device. Unlike the oneabove that it was a device that is meant to be clipped on by the waist and the onethat is activated

by the user that is a pendant. The Halo monitoring device is achest strap. It is also water proof and can be worn 24/7. The chest straptransmits a wireless message indicating the fall, this message is sent to sent totheir Health Server and through theuser’s gateway and is then delivered to aprofessional call center as well as a text message to family/friends/caregivers.

The devices is positions on the chest since the chest is least likely to moveerratically therefore giving better reliability (of 98.9%-

99.2%). Another concern isalso to make it wore so it could easily be concealed and therefore making it moreacceptable for the user to wear. This chest strap like this project also uses morethan an accelerometer it also constantly monitors vital signs; heart rate,temperature and orientation. Meaning besides letting the family/friend/caregiverand emergency personnel know that the user has fallen, it also delivers thecurrent vital signs. This device is meant for senior citizens to maximize theirindependence, lower healthcare costs and allow them to remain in their homelonger and offer peace of mind to both the users and theirfamily/friends/caregivers, while the user maintaining a normal independentlifestyle and monitor in the most unobtrusive way possible.

1.6 Project Requirements

The wireless pulse oximeter shall measure the heart rate and percent oxygensaturation of the blood and then transmit data to its display unit. The pulseoximeter, the Transmitter Sensor Unit (TSU) andReceiving Data Unit (RDU),shall be able to operate together wirelessly at a minimum distance of 20 ft. TheTSU will have an accuracy of ±2% SpO2

(70%-100% oxygen concentration) forthe patients of ages of 13 and older. The TSU will have an accuracy of ±3

BPM19

for pulse. The TSU shall sample data at least once every 100ms and poll batterystatus at least once every 10 minutes. Data will be sent to the RDU at a minimumof once every second.

The fall detection shall detect the position of the patient, whether if it’s anintentional fall or not. It will either send a signal or not based on the position,angular velocity and acceleration of the patient. If the patient is in a position otherthan upright and thresholds are met, the accelerometers shall emit a signal via aTSU to the RDU indicating a fall. The accuracy of the fall detection tri-axialaccelerometers shallmonitor

acceleration within a range of±10g

andangularvelocity

between±300˚/s and ±500˚/s. The sampling rateshall be to at least120Hz, a bandwidth exceeding the characteristic response of

human movement.

The RDU will display the pulse oximetry data of the patient on normal operationsand patient information upon activation of an emergency incident. A 3-digitnumber shall be able to be displayed on the RDU; one for heart rate and one foroxygen concentration. The RDU shall be able to indicate the status of the TSUbattery, the RDU battery, and whether or not there is a signal from the TSUs. TheRDU will update all status indicators and pulse oximetry data at a minimum rateof once every second. The RDU shall be able to operate on one charge batterycycle power for a minimum of twenty-four hours. The twenty-four hour period isconsidered one use cycle. The RDU shall have an alarm system comprising oflights, vibration and sound that alerts the operator that the pulse oximetry hasreached dangerous levels. Upon reaching threshold limits, the RDU will sendan

emergency signal (911) via Bluetooth through thepatient’s

cellular phone. Thereceiving unit may use sound to alert the operator if battery status is low.

The Wireless Pulse Oximeter:



Measure percent oxygen concentration of the blood and pulse rate.



Additional

display for pulse rate and SpO2.



Have an integratedwireless transmitter

fortransmission

of datato theRDU at a nominal distance.

The Fall Detector:



Determine the patient’s position (sitting, standing or laying down).



Measure angular velocity and acceleration of patient.



Have a range of ±10g acceleration.



Have an accuracy of angular velocity between ±300˚/s to ±500˚/s.



Have a sampling rate of at least 120Hz.

The Transmitting Unit (TSU) shall:



Send pulse oximetry data and battery life to the receiving unit wirelessly.



Send data to the RDU at a minimum of once every second.



Beable to operate for a minimum of twenty-four hours (one charge cycle).



Sample oximetry measurements at a minimum of once every 100ms.



Poll battery status at a minimum of every 10 minutes.

20



Have an accuracy of ±2% for SpO2

and ±2 BPM for pulse.

Receiving Display Unit (RDU) shall:



Display the pulse oximetry data of the patient.



Be able to display a 3-digit number (one each; oxygen concentration,BPM).



Be able to indicate the status of the sensor unit’s battery; the receivingand transmitting units.



Update all

status indicators and oximetry data at a minimum of once everysecond.



Be able to use a battery if no alternating current is supplied.



Be able to operate on battery for a minimum of twenty-four hours (onecharge cycle).



Have an alarm system that utilizessound, vibration and lights to alert thepatient that the vital signs have reached dangerous levels.



Send a 911 signal viawireless means

through a cellular phone.

21

Section 2. Research

2.1

Processing Units

2.1.1 Microcontroller

Microcontroller vs.Microprocessor

–

The Central Processing Unit (CPU) onpersonal computers and small workstations is housed

in a single chip called amicroprocessor. What is the difference between a microcontroller and amicroprocessor? A microcontroller is usually designed

to perform a small set ofspecific functions whereas a microprocessor tends to be for a wider set ofgeneral functions. Microcontrollers are used for example in cars where theyperform a specific task like regulating the brakes on the wheels. Amicroprocessor is used in a PC. There is a microprocessor in the microcontroller.There can also be found an oscillator, A/D converter, RAM,and ProgramMemory. Soamicroprocessor would not be adequate for this project.

Microcontroller vs. FPGA-

FPGAs andmicrocontrollers (MCUs)were

two

possible options for theprocessing unitof this project. Both are capable of beingprogrammed to perform the actionsnecessary for calculating Sp02

includedabilities, programming languageand size are what separate the two for

thisdesign.

An FPGA contains many features. They are able to create any logic function and

can be interfaced with other FPGAs to solve complex combinatorial mathematic

problems. FPGAs are programmed using hardware description languages

(HDLs) which program logic functions into an executable file that the FPGA can

read. The HDL file is generally based off a higher-level program's mathematical

model,

such as those created in MATLAB. FPGAs are designed to be

programmed

bythepatient

in the field, making them extremely easy to debug.

They can also be programmed to prevent any more modifications, making them

desirable in marketable products. FPGAs are generally their own PCBs and may

be large.

MCUs containsome similar features to FPGAs but also offer other options.

Rather than an HDL, MCUs can be programmed inassembly

or a high-level

programming language,such as C. These chips contain their own integrated

timers, crystal osciIIators and many

inputs and outputs. Generally, MCUs areimplemented

in

automatically controlled applications that do not require, and maynot even allow,for external user input.Other features found in MCUs mayinclude internal analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) and digital-to analogconverters (DACs)

to allow for signal processing and control, timers, receivers or

transmitter as wellas many input and output ports (I/Os).

22

Since the goals of this project necessitate small size, FPGAs are not ideal for this

design. Additionally, the design team is more familiar with programming

languages allowed by an MCU. Themath necessary to calculate SpO2

and

pulse rate does not require the complex math functions

achieved using an FPGA;

the MCU is the best option for this project. Considering the amount of possible

features found already integrated into MCUs, there are a variety∙of options

available. These options can be narrowed down

bythe necessities of this

project. Since there are many LEDs that need to be controlled, the MCU for this

project must have many

I/Oports available for programming.The ideal MCU for

this project would also have transmission and receiving capabilities built-in. The

rest of the necessities are governed by the objectives of the project: low power

consumption, small size and ease of use. The MCU that requires the least

amount of external ICs will be preferable as well as those that run on extremely

I/Opins, 8KB Flash,1 KB RAM,operates at 16 MHz, roughly 12mm x 12mm in size and is availableas either aLQFP or QFN. The MSP430F233 has many alternative componentsto fit anyneed whether it be more or less RAM, Flash, or processing power. Thischip was end equipment optimized for Wireless Communication applications. TheMSP430F233 has 48

I/O pins, 12-bit ADC,free IDE for MSP430 chips and 51Instructions. This chip has a larger size with fewer integrated features than othermicrocontrollers do.

Pros



Samples available



48

I/O pins



12-bit

ADC



Free IDE for MSP430 chips



51 Instructions



Wake from standby in less than one microsecond



Low power

consumption



Five low power modes



Two 16-bit timers



4 UCSI ports with support for

I2C, synchronous SPI, UART, and IrDA



Serial onboard programming



Freely available sample code and user manuals

Cons



The size is large for

the TSU.



No internal DAC 12-bits for control ofthe LEDs

23

MSP430F2616

-

The Texas Instruments MSP430F2616 has many of the samefeatures as theMSP430F233, and is included to show an example of the largevariety of MSP430's that are available. This chip has 92kB of lash, 4kB of RAMandoperates at 16MHz.

The MSP430F2616 can be upgradedif more RAM orFlash

is needed. The MSP430F2616 has end equipment optimized forRF/ZigBee

applications.This chip comes in two sizes 12mm x 12mm and 14mmx 14mm with 48 and 64

monitor the supply voltageor an externalvoltage. It can beconfigured to set a flag when the voltage beingmonitored

drops below a user-selected threshold.

The TI MSP430F2616 is a great microcontroller for this project.The only thingthat is not great

about it is the size.At12mm x 12mm,being thesmallestavailable,there is limited

amount ofroomon the PCB for other components.Oneof the

pros ofordering parts fromTIis that almost allof their products havesamples available. Thishelps bringdown the cost ofproducing this project.Inaddition,TI has theirown IDE for developing software for the MSP430 chips.Anothernice feature about this chip,the DAC could be used with theTSU forcontrolling the LEDs. This could lower the costof the project as a whole, because

noadditional part wouldhave to be purchased. The DMA controller can beusedto write data to memory coming in from SPI communication, such as the packetcoming in from the transceiver on the RDU.The voltage monitor can be used tomonitor the battery life of the TSU.

Figure1a–

Microcontroller (14mm x 14mm)

Courtesy of Texas Instruments

24

Fig. 1b

–

MSP430F2616 picture and pin designation.

Courtesy of Texas Instruments

Pros



Samples Available



48 or 64

I/OPins



12-bitADC



12-bit DAC



FreeIDEfor MSP430 chips



51 Instructions



Wake fromstandbyin less than one microsecond



Low power



Five low power modes



Two 16-bittimers



4 UCSI ports with support for

I2C, synchronous SPI, UART, and IrDA



Serial onboardprogramming



Freely' available sample code and user manuals



DMA controller



Supply voltage monitor

25

Cons



The sizes arelarge for the TSU



More Power consumption thanother MSP430s

2.1.2

Transceivers

CC1101

-

The CC1101 is a low-cost sub 1GHz transceiver designed for verylow-powerwireless applications.The chip is mainly intended for the ISM andSRD

basebandmodem.The modem supports various modulationformats and has a configurable data rate up to 500kBaud. The CC1101 providesextensive hardware support for packet handling withamax packet error of1%,data buffering,burst transmissions,clear channel assessment,link qualityindication and wake-on-radio functionality for automatic low-power Rxpolling andautomatic CRChandling. Also 2-FSK, GFSK,MSK,OOK, and ASK aresupported. The main operatingparameters and the 64-bytetransmit/receiveFIFOs of CC1101can be controlled via an SPI interface.The CC1101 is availableina 4mm

x 4mm QFN package with 20 pins as shownbelow inFigure 2a and2b.

Figure2a and 2b

–

CC1101 picture and pindesignation (4mm x 4mm)

Courtesy of Texas Instruments

The CC1101 would be great for the useofcommunication.It is highly flexible,

and has greatoptions for low power applications.This chip’s footprintis also very

small 4mm x 4 mm.Since theTSUhasvery limitedreal estate, the parts that are

used in thePCBneed to be assmall as possible. The CC1101 also has no need

26

for many externalcomponents that most radiofrequency

transceivers

require,

such as a frequency synthesizer, external filters,or

RF switches.Since theprojectis on alimited budget, it isgood to have parts that do notrequire externalcomponentsto function properly.The CC11 01 also supports asynchronous and

for backwards compatibility with existing radio communication protocols

Cons

• Needs external componentsin order to function

CC2520

–

TheCC2520 is a 2.4GHz transceiver that operates using the ZigBeestandard(IEEE 802.15.4).It uses verylow power for transmission.Whilereceiving, theCC2520 uses 18.5mA.It has aprogrammableoutput up to +5dBm.While transmitting at +5dBmthe CC2520 uses 33.5mA

and uses only 25.8mAtransmitting at 0dBm.Thischip has anoutput data rate of 250kbps. Thechipuses CSMA/CA toassess the clarity of a channel in orderto avoid transmittingdata in a noisy environment.The MCU automatically adds a CRC.Thischip hasonly 768 bytesof RAM onboard.The CC2520 has a 4-wire SPIport to enableserial communication with other devices. Six GPIOs areincluded for any otherfunctionsthat may need to be preformed. Alsoincludedin this chip are a randomnumbergenerator and aninterrupt generator.This chip does not have an internalADCor DAC.

The CC2520 comes in a verysmallpackage. The chip is5mm x5mm and

comes in a standard 28-pin QFNpackage,asshownbelow

in Figure 3a and3b.It has anextended operating temperature range of-40to+125˚C.It can operateon a very low voltage power supply,ranging from 1.8V to

3.8V.

27

Figure 3a and3b

–

CC2520

picture and pin designation (5mm x 5mm)

Courtesy of Texas Instruments

Pros



Very small



Low power

consumption



Low operating voltage



Good radio



Automatic CRC



Collision avoidance



Fast data rate



Small number of GPI Os and 1 SPI port

Cons



Needs external MCU



Uses 2.4GHz ZigBee

2.1.3

Microcontrollers with built-in Transceiver

CC430F5137

-

The Texas InstrumentsCC430 is a sub-1GHz wirelesstransceivermicrocontroller module. It is a true system-on-chip design.It is acombination of

two different TI parts-

the MSP430 and the CC1101-

andcontains features of both. The CC430 is designed for use in ultra-low-powerdesigns and contains five low

power modes to extend battery life.Typical, thisMCU is used for portable sensor units, which is precisely the application of thisproject.The chip contains up to 32kB of flash memory, 4kB of RAM, two timers,28

an ADC, a clockmodule and 32

I/Opins, among other features.Figure 4a and4b

display

thepicture andpindesignation for the CC430F5137.

Figure 4a and4b

–

CC430F5137 picture and pin designation (9mm x 9mm)

Courtesy of Texas Instruments

29

The most important part of this chip is that

it contains both an MCU and atransceiver.This is ideal for the project because

itwill save space on the PCB,thusallowing a smaller board to be created and a smaller overall product.Sincethe CC430 can be programmed using familiar languages,having both parts inone will not only save time programming, butcompletely eliminates the need tolearn a new programming language. The integrated real time clock is anotherplus. This clock will

allow the transmission to be programmed easily.With these

programmedon a real-time

clock, coordinating the twounits willbe mucheasier.

Other aspects found on this chip include an

on-board comparator, audiocapabilities, which may help run the speaker on the RDU,sample-and-hold

features and internaltemperature and battery sensors.These features are allimportant to thedesign of this pulse-oximeter.Each of these features willsave